The end-of-the-year awards gauntlet can sometimes feel like an endless trek through harsh terrain with only the same familiar faces to stare at day in and day out, so how thoughtful of Peter Weir to make his bid for Oscar glory with a movie that captures that feeling quite literally. The Way Back follows prisoners Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, and Colin Farrell as they escape from a Soviet gulag, which isn't even the hard part: They must then begin an arduous 4,000-mile walk through rivers, deserts, and the Himalayas to finally reach safety. The movie picked up positive notices and a distributor at the Telluride Film Festival, and Newmarket is planning an Oscar-qualifying run this December, but in a year where contenders like The Social Network, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, and The Kids Are All Right are actually kinda fun, will The Way Back prove too grueling in comparison? One thing the trailer makes clear: Though these men's journey may not have been pretty, for the moviegoer, at least the scenery will be.
Watch: Trailer For Peter Weir's 'The Way Back' Arrives [The Playlist]